The Coal Ash Spill of 2008
On the Sunday before Christmas my Great Aunt, Janice James, did not suspect her and the lives of her family would change forever. I am forever grateful to still have her around to gain more insight into the traumatic event, that was not all included in the national news stories. If you just looked out Janice James ' back window you would know exactly why she and her husband, Perry James, chose to live on Lakeshore Drive, it was stunning! The Emory River widens as it passes through the neighborhood to create a picturesque view that she would wake up to everyday. Clearly, this was her home. That was until 2008, when TVA 's Kingston Fossil Plant led to the biggest coal-ash spill, in history.
Chris Copeland was awakened by the sound of trees snapping, sounding like an "automatic rifle”. Janice says, “Chris just thought it was another train passing by and just laid back down until the sound continued." …show more content…
He rushed outside and noticed that the power was out and also that his dock was destroyed. He could not find an explanation for all of this, and then it hit him...the dikes have fallen! The on scene coordinator stated that, “a containment dike surrounding a portion of the Class II landfill collapsed, releasing approximately 5.5 million cy of fly ash and bottom ash” (Tennessee Valley 1). Fly ash is different than bottom ash because fly ash is gathered by electrostatic precipitators where as bottom ash is ash removed from the bottom of the boiler, also known as coal ash, both are extremely dangerous. Consequently, over 40 properties were affected by ash or water surge and three of those homes were
On the Sunday before Christmas my Great Aunt, Janice James, did not suspect her and the lives of her family would change forever. I am forever grateful to still have her around to gain more insight into the traumatic event, that was not all included in the national news stories. If you just looked out Janice James ' back window you would know exactly why she and her husband, Perry James, chose to live on Lakeshore Drive, it was stunning! The Emory River widens as it passes through the neighborhood to create a picturesque view that she would wake up to everyday. Clearly, this was her home. That was until 2008, when TVA 's Kingston Fossil Plant led to the biggest coal-ash spill, in history.
Chris Copeland was awakened by the sound of trees snapping, sounding like an "automatic rifle”. Janice says, “Chris just thought it was another train passing by and just laid back down until the sound continued." …show more content…
He rushed outside and noticed that the power was out and also that his dock was destroyed. He could not find an explanation for all of this, and then it hit him...the dikes have fallen! The on scene coordinator stated that, “a containment dike surrounding a portion of the Class II landfill collapsed, releasing approximately 5.5 million cy of fly ash and bottom ash” (Tennessee Valley 1). Fly ash is different than bottom ash because fly ash is gathered by electrostatic precipitators where as bottom ash is ash removed from the bottom of the boiler, also known as coal ash, both are extremely dangerous. Consequently, over 40 properties were affected by ash or water surge and three of those homes were